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Over 12,000 complaints against cops in 2012, only 112 sacked

Delhi Police has been embarrassed by its own men in the past one week, with many red faces in the police headquarters. The allegations range from extortion to a brutal and murderous assault. Has the force suddenly and unfortunately hit a rough patch or could this be the proverbial tip of the iceberg?

If public perception matters, you won't be faulted for believing that things are not all that hunky-dory. Last year, 21.5 per cent of the total complaints against the law-enforcers in the country were filed against members of Delhi Police, according to the latest report of National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). The total strength of Delhi Police being about 84,000, a total of 12,342 complaints in a year can't be good for the image of the force.

If last year, Delhi came a close second to Madhya Pradesh in the number of complaints against its officers, in 2011, it had topped the list with 12,805 complaints.

The subject of these complaints ranged from corruption and non-registration of FIRs to inefficiency and lack of rigour in investigation.

Interestingly, against the 12,342 complaints last year, only 376 departmental inquiries were initiated.

Even less is the number of police personnel who got dismissed from service. Only 112 men were removed from service last year and 1404 got away with minor punishments.

Interestingly, Delhi Police has also earned the dubious distinction of having the maximum number of officers found guilty by courts. A total of 13 cops were convicted in 2012 by the district courts of the capital, the highest conviction rate for cops in any state.

Courts have been venting their fury in their orders. In April this year, Supreme Court observed that Delhi Police had gone "berserk" while taking suo motu cognizance of a senior officer slapping a young woman so hard that she began bleeding from the ear. The woman was protesting against the rape of a five-year-old girl in the capital.

Recently, a trial court had asked the Delhi government and Delhi Police to create a mechanism for ensuring implementation and compliance of judicial orders passed against erring officers and also give it a "transparent and prompt" feedback. The court's order came in a case in which a senior citizen was found dead after he went missing and no action was taken by the police.

The body was cremated as unclaimed despite a missing person's complaint being lodged. The court said the feedback of the authorities on the action taken against the officers concerned has to be "transparent and prompt" so that it could make some difference at the ground level.